Lesvos

Lesbos (Λέσβος) [3], or Lesvos, is the northest of the East Aegean Islands of Greece, projecting out of the Asia Minor mainland.

It is a birthplace of numerous poets and writers since the Greek antiquity till the recent years; the island of Lesbos is still inspiring, through this cultural heritage and its natural beauties of landscape contrasts, an easygoing lifestyle, expressed by its people as a familiarity towards all its visitors.

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General info

Eventhough they inaccurately say it is due to the erotic element in some poems by the famous Sappho, instead of Lesbos (Λέσβος) it is popular to refer to the island by the name of its capital town of Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη). Spellings of Lesvos and Mitilini are widespread transliterations, reflecting the actual Greek pronunciation.

Of all the islands of Greece, Lesbos is only preceded in area by Crete (South) and Evvia (Centre). However, in terms of administration, the prefecture of Lesvos comprises of three major islands, Lesbos, Lemnos at the northwest, and the tiny Agios Efstratios, located in the middle between the first two islands.

Geographically, Lesbos includes two seawater gulfs, with narrow openings both to the south, that elongate the coastline and shaping the island characteristically like a fig tree or plane tree leaf, as described by the native nobelist poet Odysseas Elytis. The landscape is different in the various regions; most striking is the contrast of the far west region, rocky with low vegetation, to the east and central parts, where olive and pine tree forests dominate. Its elevation reaches almost 1000 meters at both points: the north at mount Lepetymnos and the south at mount Olympos, a name identical to the original Olympus in Thessaly.

Towns and Villages

The capital of Lesvos is Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), at the east end. A busy town as it concentrates the hospital, the university, the port, the airport, the court, the prefecture and other administrative headquarters.

Kalloni is the second-in-size town, located in the center of the island, at the north of the greater of the two gulfs (thus called "Gulf of Kalloni").

Molivos, the ancient Methymna (spelled also as Mithimna), the most important destination for a visitor, because of its attractions: the Gattilusi Castle and the whole preserved traditional architecture. It is one of the two lungs of tourism in Lesbos, the other one being Eressos.

Eressos is a small dale town at southwest paving the way to the sandy beach, or Skala Eressou, thus being mostly a summer resort. Notably, its fame as the birthplace of Sappho attracts some lesbian (homosexual) couples, but they consist a part of the whole number of Eressos' visitors, as it is a place too beautiful to become isolated.

Plomari at the south coast in the middle of the two gulfs' openings, is the homeland of Ouzo, the well-known Greek alcoholic beverage.

Mandamados, at the northeast, for the ceramic art tradition and the locally produced dairy products.

Agiasos, the picturesque village while ascending onto Olympos.

Other destinations

Sigri, the village at the west end of the island, hosting the Natural History Museum of the Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest area is located between Eressos and Sigri.

Petra and the beach at Anaxos, almost unavoidable if you visit Molivos. The beach is facing to the north but it is crowded even when affected by the prevailing north winds.

Pirgi Thermis (Πύργοι Θερμής, lit. Towers at Therme), a few kilometers north of Mytilene, for the all-day bar restaurants and the beach.

Skala Sykamnias between Molivos and Mandamados, for its fish tavernae and the landscape. Greeks know the place because of the chapel of Panagia Gorgona (transl. Mermaid Madonna) that became famous after the popular story of the Lesbian writer Stratis Myrivilis in his book.

Cultural information

People of Lesbos have admired culture since the ancient times, and throughout the centuries many poets, writers, philologists, painters emerged.

Two of the famous ancient classics were the poet Sappho (whose erotic poems gave rise to the word lesbian), born in Eressos and the lyric poet Alcaeus of Mytilene, an older contemporary. A glimpse of the ancient life in Lesbos is exhibited in the new Archeological Museum of Mytilene building. Bypassing some notable people before the 19th century, the naive painter Theofilos would depict not only the lifestyle of his time, but also the ancient myths survived in the tradition; Teriade, an art critic, preserved Theofilos' work among his collection of Picasso and Matisse in his own gallery, the Teriade Museum in Varia, a suburb of Mytilene on the way south to the airport. Both museums are worth visiting.

Talk

Greek is most common but many people, especially younger ones, know English as a second Language. Most signs are bilingual or even only English, but usually spelling follows a transliteration of how some place is pronounced in Modern Greek, so a little hard to recognize.

Get in

By plane

The island is served by Odysseas Elytis (Οδυσσέας Ελύτης) airport, named after the 20th century poet, and located in the far South-East of the island, around 8km South of Mytilene. Flights run regularly to/from Athens, Thessaloniki, Chios and Lemnos. Internationally, the island is a popular holiday destination so is served by regular charter flights.

By ship

The island is also connected with the mainland and other islands by ship. Many major companies offer routes between Lesbos and Athens.

The main shipping company is NEL Lines. Third class tickets (No bed) is about 42 Euros return from Athens. First class with a bed and tv cost 120 Euros. I suggest not travelling third class as the bathrooms are disgusting! The trip is 11-13 hours depending on which ship you board. There are four, Agios Rafael is the slowest and Mitilini is the fastes taking 11 hours. It is a tiresome journey, so it would be better to try book on ships that depart late in the afternoon and travel by night, arriving at their destination a couple of hours after dawn. You won't miss any scenery, since the ship crosses the Aegean Sea and for hours you would only be viewing endless water.

Jale Tur maintains a year-round ferry service between Mytilene and Ayvalık, Turkey, a city opposite Mytilene on the Aegean coast. During high season there are boats every day; outside season a few times a week (weather permitting). The crossing takes about 90 minutes. The ferry does take cars, but is fairly small. Advance reservation is recommended. Contact: Jale Tur, Atatürk Caddesi, Güzide Apt. No:5, Ayvalık, Turkey / Tzeims Aristarchou Street 1 (around the corner from Kountouriotou), Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece (both in Ayvalık and in Mytilene directly opposite the entrance/exit of the immigration/customs building on the waterfront), ☎+90 266 331 31 70 / +30 22510 41400 (jaletour_@hotmail.com, fax: +90 266 331 41 30 / +30 22510 41402), [1]. € 40 p.p. one way, € 50 return trip; compact car € 70. During high season several other companies also maintain ferry services between Mytilene and Ayvalık.

Get around

Local buses run all around the main roads; tickets are 1 Euro each for a single trip. You can buy tickets over the counter at local coffee shops or small deli shops. The major bus stop and information station is located at Mitilini.

Taxis are cheap, and most use the meter. They do drive like crazy though. Taxis based in Mitilini are yellow and most are turbo Opels. Taxis not based in Mitilini are grey-coloured and rarely use the meter. The latter taxis use mostly fixed fares for trips connecting various locations outside Mitilini, with an average cost of around 1 Euro per Km.

A good way to see the island is to rent a car. A local, good quality and affordable car rental place, Auto Moto, can be found at the airport, and many more car rental places at and around Kountouriotou Street at Mitilini's harbour front. Recommended if you are a confident driver! The locals drive pretty fast, but usually obey the traffic rules. The roads are generally quite good, and even the mountain roads not too challenging.

The island offers nice hiking routes between the villages. The hiking maps are available in tourist offices.

See

The big beach of Vatera at the south part of the island.

The medieval (Genovese) castle at Mytilene.

The picturesque village of Agiasos, situated on the north-east slope of Mount Olympos.

Pyrgi Thermis.

The small picturesque fisherman's village of Skala Sykamineas at the north side of the island.

Molyvos, a traditional, touristic village with a medieval fort on the top of a hill overlooking the area.

The petrified forest on the Western part of the island.

The Geological Museum in Sigri, one of the best museums in Greece.

Do

See the small village of Pyrgi Thermis on the east side of the island. Very friendly people, Small beach, war ruins near the beach. And also foreign university students during the whole of summer. There is also a 4-star hotel, Lesvos Inn, on the sandy beach close to the thermal baths of Pyrgi, that offers rooms from 50-100 Euros a night and excellent service. The hotel offers Internet access and spa facilities. They speak English.

Visit the thermal baths at Eftalou beach on the north side of the island, about 5 km from Molyvos. You can cool off from the hot water by going in the sea, and go back and forth as often as you want.

Eat

The island offers a variety of sea-food with reasonable prices.

Also the sweets of the island and the local spirit "Ouzo" are quite an experience.

Drink

Coffee is the most available drink on the island, even more than water. Prices start from 1-5 Euros

Alcohol is sold at every Coffee shop in every village or bars in the capital Mitilini near the wharf where the ferry will drop you off. Almost all Major hotels serve Alcohol as well.Price : 3-12 Euros.

Lesbos is famous for its Ouzo.

Sleep

Vatera Beach Hotel, Vatera Beach, [2]. Budget Hotel and Studios - run by very friendly family and staff, situated right on the sea front.

Tradition

Lesvos is quite well-known for the great number of its local, traditional products. As mentioned before, Lesvos is very famous for Ouzo, as it is considered one of the places it originates from. Also, Lesvos is quite famous for its pottery. Agiasos and Mandamados are the two villages that have the biggest tradition in ceramic art. Many ceramists live and work in these villages. Some of the ceramists there are Antonia Gavve( and Demetrios Hadjigiannis. Except for ceramics, woodcraft is also very developed in Lesvos.

Stay safe

Never take photos of Military compounds/bases.

The Greeks are quite friendly and traveling around would be very safe.